Readings, Vol. I

following news from any far away place is always a bit tricky, but here are some of the better u.s. articles i've found recently on bolivia:

1. alma guillermoprieto's new york review of books articles, "a new bolivia?" part i, august 10 http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19210
2. and her follow-up article, "the new bolivia: ii", september 21*
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=19298

*for the later one, you can read the intro and then you have to buy the article (or maybe it will be posted in full for free later, as the first one is now), but it is well worth the $3. i've been reading a book by guillermoprieto on latin america that is remarkably well done, and these articles on bolivia are no exception. i really think i'm developing a sort of journalistic crush on her, because her work is just immaculate and incredibly accurate.

3. npr story on evo as president and bolivia's political temperature http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6061781

in general, this is a solid article, especially as it highlights how the historical context is so forefront in so many bolivians' minds right now. it's part of npr's series of "latin america shift to the left" series, though, and that title and the idea behind it irk me to no end in regards to bolivia because 1) bolivia has been soooooo far right for so long, politically and economically, much farther right than the u.s., for that matter, that it is going in the direction of the left, but really it's centering by coming away from the far right, and 2) what's happening right now is a result of about 500 years of history unique to bolivia, and to describe it as bolivia jumping on some sort of regional ideological bandwagon is to grossly understate and misrepresent the situation. but again, it's still a good report.

4. john tierney's nytimes column, "reading the coca leaves", 23 september
http://www.mapinc.org/tlcnews/v06/n1266/a03.htm?155
this is really exciting to see. this is the type of context, i.e. cultural context for the coca leaf, that is so badly needed in the north american dialogue on coca.

he had a curious sentence, however, where he writes, "The tiny amount of cocaine in the leaves is a mild stimulant and appetite suppressant that isn't more frightening than coffee or colas -- in fact, it might be less addictive than caffeine, and on balance it might even be good for you."

1) there is no cocaine in the coca leaf. there are something like 15 or 17 alkalides in the leaf, one of which is the one from which cocaine is derived, but the coca leaf has to go through an incredibly intense three-stage chemical process (during which you add sulfuric acid multiple times, among other things) before you get cocaine. to use a facile analogy, to say there's cocaine in coca is like saying there's a cookie in a chocolate chip.

2) where tierney proposes that coca "might" be less addictive than caffeine, i can say for myself that while i had to stop drinking coffee, after giving up pop years ago, because the caffeine affected me too much (made me jittery, dependent), i have coca tea (mate) every other day or so, especially if i'm not feeling well. also, i have never heard of any study saying the leaf is addictive, and as anyone living down here or in south america will tell you, its benefits are extensive.

notwithstanding, i wrote tierney to thank him for writing the column.

and again, if you see anything from la paz by the ap is most likely by my roommate. it's pretty good, too :)